Many diagramming applications allow for the creation of a flowchart to illustrate a business process. Specific shapes are often used in the flowchart to identify various types of steps within the process. For example, a rectangle may identify an action step in the process, while a diamond represents a decision step in the process. To create a flowchart using a diagramming application, a user typically is presented with a shape gallery that includes a number of shapes commonly used in a flowchart. The shape gallery is located in an area adjacent to, but separate from, the canvas on which the flowchart is being created. The user may then select a desired shape and drag the shape onto the canvas to the desired location within the flowchart. To add additional shapes, the user must repeat the process of moving the cursor to the shape gallery, selecting the desired shape, and dragging the shape into place on the drawing canvas.
Another method of adding a shape to a flowchart includes selecting a shape from a shape gallery as described above. After dragging the first shape of a process diagram from the shape gallery onto the drawing canvas, the user may continue to add subsequent shapes that are identical to the shape selected from the shape gallery to the flowchart by selecting a specific object or control on the drawing canvas. For example, the MICROSOFT OFFICE VISIO 2007 diagramming application from MICROSOFT CORPORATION of Redmond, Wash., utilizes connection controls that appear when a mouse cursor is hovered over a diagram shape. When one of the connection controls is then selected, a diagram shape identical to the selected diagram shape in the shape gallery is placed in the flowchart at the location indicated by the utilized connection control and a connector is inserted to connect the adjacent shapes.
Similarly, to change a diagram shape, a user may select the diagram shape on the canvas for which the change is to be made, and then select the desired diagram shape from the shape gallery. For example, to change an action step to a decision step, the user selects the action step on the drawing canvas and then selects the decision step from the shape gallery. In response, the rectangular-shaped action step changes to a diamond-shaped decision step. In each method outlined above, the user is required to leave the drawing canvas with the mouse cursor in order to select the desired diagram shape from the shape gallery. Because diagramming is often a rapid process, leaving the drawing canvas for any reason may cause a decrease in efficiency.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is provided.